skip to main content

Catalog 95, A-B

NOTE: This page is from our catalog archives. The listings are from an older catalog and are on our website for reference purposes only. If you see something you're interested in, please check our inventory via the search box at upper right or our search page.
1. AGEE, James. Holograph Notes and Doodles Unsigned. Undated, circa 1940s. One sheet of penciled movie titles and doodled stars and boxes. Agee, besides being a journalist, novelist, poet and scriptwriter, was a noted film critic, whose film reviews were collected posthumously in a two-volume set entitled Agee on Film. Holograph material by Agee is quite scarce, and this example, while slight, is suggestive of his interest in films--the list appearing to be an impromptu ranking of sorts. Folded in fourths, splitting at the folds; very good.

2. AMIS, Martin. Night Train. NY: Harmony Books (1997). The advance reading copy (marked "Uncorrected Proof") of the first American edition of Amis' most recent novel. Fine in wrappers.

3. ANGELOU, Maya. Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie. NY: Random House (1971). The uncorrected proof copy of the second book, a collection of poems, by the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and also the author of the Inaugural Poem read at the most recent Presidential Inauguration, in 1993. Near fine in tall, thin, padbound wrappers--an extremely fragile format and, thus, exceedingly scarce. The copyediting marks have been whited-out throughout.

4. ANGELOU, Maya. Even the Stars Look Lonesome. NY: Random House, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of her latest collection of personal essays. Fine in wrappers.

5. (Anthology). The American Poetry Anthology. Boulder: Westview Press (1975). The very scarce hardcover edition of this collection, which was also issued as an Avon Books paperback. Edited and inscribed by Daniel Halpern. Collects work by 76 poets under 40, including: Ai, Lucille Clifton, Rita Dove, Carolyn Forché, Jim Harrison, Robert Hass, James Tate, Charles Simic, Diane Wakoski, Alice Walker, James Welch and many others. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

6. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy of the Avon edition (NY: Avon, 1975). Inscribed by Halpern. The contents page and the introduction are laid in on folded sheets. Spine-sunned; near fine in wrappers.

7. (Anthology). Nuyorican Poetry. NY: Morrow, 1975. An influential anthology of Puerto Rican poetry from New York, which helped launch the appreciation of multicultural writing, now a staple of contemporary cultural studies on college campuses. Edited by Miguel Algarín and Miguel Piñero, and graphically inscribed by Algarín. This is an advance review copy of the hardcover edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

8. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Fine in wrappers and inscribed by Algarín.

9. (Anthology). Sudden Fiction. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith (1986). The uncorrected proof copy of this landmark anthology of short-short stories by writers such as Updike, Cheever, Paley, Carver, Peter Taylor, Russell Banks, Joyce Carol Oates, Tobias Wolff, T.C. Boyle, Jayne Anne Phillips, Barthelme, Tallent, Dybek, Malamud and many others. The standard introduction to the form and, again, a staple on college reading lists for the last several years. Fine in wrappers.

10. (Anthology). Four Minute Fictions. Flagstaff: World Beat Press (1987). Another collection of short-short fiction. Fifty stories, by writers such as Raymond Carver, T.C. Boyle, Barry Lopez, Jayne Anne Phillips and W.P. Kinsella. Light bump to one upper board edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.

11. (Anthology). Lord John 10. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1988. An impressive anthology celebrating ten years of the Press's existence, collecting pieces by twenty-six contributors. Including, and signed by, John Updike, Raymond Carver, James Crumley, Ray Bradbury, William Everson, Jim Harrison, Tess Gallagher, Joyce Carol Oates, James Purdy, Derek Walcott, former President Gerald Ford, and many others. This is the deluxe edition, one of 75 copies quarterbound in leather. One small smudge to front board, trace rubbing to leather at the spine extremities; very near fine, without dust jacket, as issued.

12. (Anthology). The Best American Essays 1990. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1990. With work by Annie Dillard, Stanley Elkin, James Alan McPherson, Joy Williams, Paul West, Tom Wolfe, Randy Shilts, and others. This is the hardcover edition; fine in a fine dust jacket.

13. (Anthology). The Best American Short Stories 1991. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. The uncorrected proof copy of this annual collection. Edited by Alice Adams. Contributors include John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Rick Bass, Robert Olen Butler, Alice Munro, Harriet Doerr, Lorrie Moore, Amy Bloom, and others. Fine in wrappers.

14. (Anthology). The Best American Essays 1991. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1991. The uncorrected proof copy. Edited by Joyce Carol Oates. With pieces by John Updike, Woody Allen, Gretel Ehrlich, Amy Tan and Margaret Atwood, among others. Fine in wrappers.

15. (Anthology). The Best American Short Stories 1992. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. Edited and introduced by Robert Stone. This is the advance reading copy (marked "uncorrected proof"). Contributors include Amy Bloom, Robert Olen Butler, Thom Jones, Christopher Tilghman, David Foster Wallace, Kate Wheeler, Tobias Wolff, Rick Bass, Mavis Gallant, Denis Johnson, Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Reynolds Price and others. Fine in wrappers.

16. (Anthology). The Best American Essays 1992. NY: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. The advance reading copy. Edited by Susan Sontag, and with contributions by John Updike (2), E.L. Doctorow, Stanley Elkin, Joan Didion, William Gass, Jamaica Kincaid, and others. Fine in wrappers.

17. (Anthology). The Best American Short Stories 1993. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. The advance reading copy, again marked "uncorrected proof." Edited and introduced by Louise Erdrich, and including stories by Thom Jones, John Updike, Wendell Berry, Alice Munro, Susan Power, Tony Early, Janet Peery, Antonya Nelson, Lorrie Moore, and others. Fine in wrappers.

18. (Anthology). The Best American Sports Writing 1993. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. The advance reading copy. With writings by Roger Angell, Mark Kram, Dave Barry, and Donna Tartt, among many others. One slight corner bump; fine in wrappers.

19. (Anthology). Listen to Their Voices. Twenty Interviews with Women Who Write. NY: Norton (1993). Interviews by Mickey Pearlman with such writers as Terry Tempest Williams, Jayne Anne Phillips, Grace Paley, Joy Harjo, Jane Smiley and Anne Rice, among others. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

20. (Anthology). The Best American Short Stories 1994. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Edited by Tobias Wolff, with stories by Sherman Alexie, Robert Olen Butler, Thom Jones, Stuart Dybek, Tony Earley, Chris Offut, Barry Hannah, Christopher Tilghman, and others. This is the uncommon hardcover edition (there was a simultaneous paperback). Fine in a fine dust jacket.

21. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.

22. (Anthology). Between Friends. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. The advance reading copy (again, marked "uncorrected proof") of this collection of twenty essays on the theme of friendship. Edited by Mickey Pearlman. With contributions by Jill McCorkle, Joyce Carol Oates, Carolyn See, Jane Smiley, and Terry Tempest Williams, among others. Fine in wrappers.

23. (Anthology). The Best American Short Stories 1997. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy of this collection, edited and introduced by E. Annie Proulx. With work by Robert Stone, Tobias Wolff, Cynthia Ozick, T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Franzen, Lydia Davis, Jeffrey Eugenides and Pam Durban, among others. Fine in wrappers.

24. (Anthology). The Best American Essays 1997. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy. Edited by Ian Frazier. With essays by Richard Ford, Thomas McGuane, Cynthia Ozick, Charles Simic, Susan Sontag, Dagoberto Gilb, Louis De Bernières and Joy Williams, among others. Fine in wrappers.

25. (Anthology). The Best American Mystery Stories 1997. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy. Edited and introduced by Robert Parker. Stories by James Crumley, Elmore Leonard, Joyce Carol Oates, Jeremiah Healy, Jonathan Kellerman, Andrew Klavan, and others. Fine in wrappers.

26. ASIMOV, Isaac. I, Robot. NY: Gnome Press (1950). An early title by Asimov, who went on to write over 300 books and become the dean of American science fiction writers. Together with the Foundation Trilogy, I, Robot stands as one of Asimov's classic works: in it, he developed the rules for robotic interaction with humans--the "Three Laws of Robotics," which became standard premise for a generation of science fiction novels. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with modest edgewear and a bit of rubbing at the crown. An extremely scarce book in the first edition, and exceptionally so with a contemporary inscription.

27. ASIMOV, Isaac. Prelude to Foundation. (Norwalk): Easton Press (1988). A leatherbound limited edition of this novel of "future history" that sets the stage for the development of the galactic empire described in the Foundation Trilogy. All page edges gilt; silk ribbon marker bound in. Signed by the author. Fine.

28. ATWOOD, Margaret. Advertising Poster for Epicoene. Undated, circa 1957-1961. 14" x 11" poster created by Atwood for a production by The Victoria College Dramatic Society of "Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman," by Ben Johnson. Atwood, who was also a member of the cast, did the artwork and the lettering, cut the stencils, and printed the poster in three colors on her own silkscreen set. Matted and framed to 22" x 19". Signed by Atwood on verso. A few light scratches and pinholes; else fine. An extremely early, scarce ephemeral piece, done while she was an undergraduate at Victoria College, sometime between 1957 and 1961. Atwood's first book was published in 1961 just after she graduated, when she was 22 years old, and thus this item precedes her first book.

29. ATWOOD, Margaret. Expeditions. (n.p.): (privately printed) (1966). A folio of eight poems by Atwood, reproduced in facsimile of her holograph, and eight lithographs by Charles Pachter, a noted and widely collected Canadian artist. Ten unbound sheets (approximately 20" x 22") laid into the publisher's cloth portfolio. The title page and colophon page are printed on handmade paper. One of 15 numbered copies signed by the artist. In addition, this copy is warmly inscribed by Atwood to a noted Canadian collector in 1978. An early, and rare Atwood item, done in the year she first gained substantial critical attention, winning the Governor-General's Award for the revised edition of her poetry collection, The Circle Game. The contents are fine; the portfolio is bowed; else fine.

30. AUCHINCLOSS, Louis. Three Lives. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. The uncorrected proof copy. Three novellas of the American moneyed class, this author's special domain. Auchincloss is widely considered the heir to such writers as Henry James and Edith Wharton as a chronicler of the New York aristocracy. At one time he was considered a likely candidate to be the next American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, before the wide experimentation with fictional forms that occurred in the 1960s and the subsequent popular disdain for the type of very traditional novels of which he was an acknowledged master. Fine in wrappers.

31. AUCHINCLOSS, Louis. The Collected Stories of Louis Auchincloss. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. The advance reading copy of his 50th book, a collection of stories and novellas selected by the author. Fine in wrappers.

32. AUCHINCLOSS, Louis. The Education of Oscar Fairfax. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. The advance reading copy. A novel linking three generations of a Wall Street law firm. The author, in addition to being a prolific writer, is a practicing member of the bar. Fine in wrappers.

33. AUSTER, Paul. Unearth. (Weston): Living Hand (1974). Poetry, published as Living Hand 3, the third issue of the magazine that Auster founded and edited, and Auster's first book. The total edition was 1000 copies in wrappers; there was no hardcover edition. Auster has gained acclaim in recent years as the author of the New York Trilogy and the creator of several notable films, including Smoke and Blue in the Face. Drenttel A1. Spine and lower edge sunned; near fine.

34. BANKS, Russell. Affliction. NY: Harper & Row, 1989. Advance reading copy of this novel by the author of Continental Drift and The Sweet Hereafter, among others. Inscribed by the author. Rubbed; near fine in wrappers.

35. BARKER, Clive. The Thief of Always. (NY): HarperCollins (1992). Advance reading copy of this novel by the author of the highly successful horror sequence, The Books of Blood. Fine in wrappers, and inscribed by the author on the title page.

36. BARTHELME, Donald. Come Back, Dr. Caligari. Boston: Little Brown (1964). His first book, a collection of short, experimental fictions. Barthelme was an influential writer whose stories, novels and other prose pieces helped re-define and expand the possibilities of literary art in the Sixties, at a time when the novel was proclaimed "dead." His writings not only belied that assertion by invigorating postwar American letters, they exerted an enormous influence on a younger generation of writers who looked to him and his postmodern contemporaries for a way to re-invent literature and make fiction a relevant art form in an era characterized by instantaneous electronic information transfer, and the appearance of mass psychosis that it seemed to convey. Barthelme died a few years ago, but his impact on American fiction lingers; at a certain crucial moment, he helped alter the trajectory of contemporary writing and in so doing opened up possibilities that had been hidden and inaccessible before. This is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.

37. BASS, Rick. Oil Notes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence, 1989. The uncorrected proof copy. Nonfiction, about oil exploration, reminiscent of both John McPhee--with his ability to render accessible an arcane field of endeavor--and Barry Lopez--with a view of the quest for oil as a metaphor for other kinds of quests and other explorations of a more intangible nature. Fine in wrappers.

38. BASS, Rick. The Lost Grizzlies. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Advance reading copy of this book of nonfiction, an exploration of the question of whether any grizzlies have survived in Colorado's wilderness. Bass explored the back country with Doug Peacock--author of the classic, Grizzly--and biologist Dennis Sizemore. Fine in wrappers.

39. BASS, Rick. The Sky, the Stars, the Wilderness. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy (designated by the publisher, "uncorrected proof"). A collection of three novellas. Fine in wrappers.

40. BELLOW, Saul. The Adventures of Augie March. NY: Viking, 1953. The first edition, first issue, of the Nobel Prize winner's third novel, and the first of his three National Book Award winners--an unprecedented accomplishment in American literature. A fine copy in a dust jacket that has the slightest bit of rubbing at the extremities; still fine. Signed by the author. A very nice copy of one of the high spots of postwar American fiction.

41. BELLOW, Samuel. Henderson the Rain King. NY: Viking, 1959. His fourth novel, fifth book, nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the spine extremities. Signed by the author.

42. BELLOW, Saul. Humboldt's Gift. NY: Viking (1975). His eighth novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the title published just before he received the Nobel Prize. Also nominated for the National Book Award, which three of his previous novels had won. A poorly manufactured volume, which uses cheap paper and is "perfectbound," making attractive copies of this title much scarcer than one would expect: in fact, this is one of the few titles we can think of wherein the book club edition of the same title is more solidly and attractively bound than was the publisher's trade edition. This copy has a few small tears to consecutive lower page edges; thus near fine, in a very near fine dust jacket. Signed by the author.

43. BELLOW, Saul. The Dean's December. NY: Harper & Row (1982). His ninth novel. Signed by the author on the title page. Owner gift inscription in pencil on the front flyleaf; else fine in a fine dust jacket.

44. BOGAN, Louise. Autograph Letters Signed. March and April, 1946. Two chatty letters, each with a return address of the Library of Congress, and each folded in sixths for mailing, one with a staple; near fine. In one, Bogan writes that "all hell has broken loose in my writing life this last month or so," and goes on to explain a recent project she had agreed to. Bogan, in addition to being a poet herself, was a reviewer and poetry editor of The New Yorker from 1931 to 1968, a position from which she wielded great influence on contemporary literary taste. In both letters Bogan lists the activities that are keeping her occupied and expresses a wish to see the recipient, ideally to go antiquing ("like wild!"). Good personal and literary content from one of the most important women writers, and critics, of her generation. For both:

45. BOWLES, Paul. The Spider's House. NY: Random House (1955). His third novel, about a group of Westerners adrift in the alien culture of Morocco, a subject he explored repeatedly to great effect. Signed by the author. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with minor wear at the spine crown. A very attractive copy of this title, which shows wear easily. Signed trade editions of Bowles's novels have become increasingly scarce in recent years, despite (or perhaps because of) the large numbers of signed limited editions that he has done.

46. BOYLE, T. Coraghessan. The Road to Wellville. (n.p.): Viking (1993). The advance reading copy of this elaborate, satirical historical novel based on the life of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a turn-of-the century health crusader and inventor of Kellogg's Corn Flakes (along with "peanut butter...[and] some seventy-five other gastrically correct foods"). Fine in wrappers. Basis for the recent film.

47. BRADBURY, Ray. The Illustrated Man. Garden City: Doubleday, 1951. One of the classics that established Bradbury as the preeminent literary science fiction writer of his generation. A collection of short stories, each related to a tattoo on the "illustrated man" of the title. Later made into a moderately well-received movie with Brad Steiger. One lower corner bumped; otherwise near fine in a very good dust jacket with several edge tears and some creasing. Still, a remarkably nice example of one of the cheaply made Doubleday genre books of the period, and an attractive copy of a science fiction classic.

48. BRENNAN, Maeve. In and Out of Never-Never Land. NY: Scribner (1969). Review copy of the first book by this Irish-born writer, a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, where all of these stories appeared. Inscribed by the author in 1973. Fine in a dust jacket with a few scratches and wear to the crown; about near fine.

49. BRENNAN, Maeve. The Long-Winded Lady. NY: Morrow, 1969. Review copy. A collection of her pieces that appeared in "The Talk of the Town" section of The New Yorker between 1953 and 1969. Inscribed by the author in 1973. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

50. BRENNAN, Maeve. Christmas Eve. NY: Scribner (1974). Review copy of her second collection of stories, all of which appeared in The New Yorker. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Boards edge-sunned; else fine in a fine dust jacket.

51. BROWN, Rosellen. The Autobiography of My Mother. Garden City: Doubleday (1976). The uncorrected proof copy of her third book and first novel. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "____/ How Gerda would love you/ (for your enthusiasm, your vigorous/ devotion)! Whether or not you'd/ want to be loved by Gerda is/ another story)./ But for now I, who made/ Gerda, love you. I hope that's/ sufficient.../ Rosellen." Partial title written on the lower page edges; glue residue showing on front label; very near fine in tall wrappers.

52. BUCK, Pearl S. The Good Earth. NY: John Day (1931). The advance reading copy of the author's second book, a modern classic: winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the William Dean Howells award for the best work of fiction to appear in a five-year span in America. The novel was made into an Academy Award-winning film in 1937 and Buck went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938--becoming one of the first women writers to win the most prestigious literary prize in the world. The Good Earth has been a staple on school reading lists ever since and is the first volume in a trilogy on Chinese peasant life that gave generations of Americans their first glimpse at a culture utterly different from their own. Creasing to spine; a bit of wrinkling to upper corner; near fine in wrappers with the publisher's publicity pamphlet tipped in, with a number of interesting details of the book's publication and promotion. A scarce, fragile prepublication issue of one of the high spots of 20th century American literature.

53. BUKOWSKI, Charles and CRUMB, R. The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Graphic Arts, 1997. A selection from Bukowski's final journals, published posthumously in an elaborate limited edition. An attractive collaboration between the consummate street poet and the comic artist par excellence, each of whom helped redefine his field of endeavor and bring it legitimacy. Crumb has illustrated the volume with a number of black and white and five color illustrations. Of a total edition of 187 copies, this is one of 175 numbered copies with five full-color serigraphs by Crumb, each signed by the artist. Approximately 11 1/4" x 14 1/2". Fine in cloth slipcase, as issued.

54. BURGESS, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. London: Heinemann (1962). The true first edition, first issue, of his alarming and controversial view of a future beset by violence, technological excess and authoritarianism, which was made into a classic film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971. Slight foxing to page edges; near fine in a modestly spine-tanned, very good first issue dust jacket with a thin line of rubbing across the front panel, one very small corner chip, and moderate wear to the crown. A very attractive copy of a book that, because of its soft paper jacket, seldom shows up in fine condition.

55. BURKE, James Lee. To the Bright and Shining Sun. (Huntington): (Cahill) (1992). Limited reissue of Burke's scarce second book, a regional novel set among mine workers in the Cumberland mountains of Kentucky--the first time this book was reprinted after its original publication in 1970. One of 400 numbered copies signed by the author. With a new introduction by the author. Fine in slipcase, at the published price.

56. BURKE, James Lee. Burning Angel. (New Orleans): (B.E. Trice) (1995). The limited edition of this novel in Burke's highly praised and award-winning series featuring Dave Robicheaux. One of 150 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in slipcase, as issued.

<< Back to Catalog Index